Valve actuating mechanism



A ril 16, 1935, F. v. WALTZ 1,997,842

VALVE ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 31, 1931 -3 Sheets-Sheet 2 F. v.wAL'rZ VALVE ACTUATING MECHANISM April 16, 1935..

Filed Aug. 31, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 16, 1935 STATE PATENTOFFICE VALVE ACTUATING MECHANISM Foster V. Waltz, St. Louis, Mo.Application August 31,1931, Serial No. 560,319 6 Claims. ((1123-90) Thisinvention relates generally to internal tions detachably secured theretowhereby such combustion engines and more particularly to Cam portions abe replaced when Wernvalve actuating m h i theref01 Additional objectsof the invention are to pro- As is well known in the art, the type ofengine vide an operating connection between two spaced now commonly usedhas a horizontally disposed points, such operating nn ti n mprisin a 5cam shaft extending the full length of the engine tubular member whichcan be curved in any doand having fixed thereon a plurality of cams, thesired s ap a p u ality f balls loosely a a d number of the lattercorresponding to the number in Said tubular member in j p d at of valvesused. Each cam actuates a push rod with each other, and Sliding d ountedin th which in turn operates a valve stem or a rocker respective d ofsaid tubular member and in 10 r as h case may a h cam has t b operativecontact with the respective balls whereaccurately machined to insureefficient operation by reciprocating motion can be ansmitted along andtiming of the valves. As each cylinder of the egular lines. 7 engine ofthe four cycle type employs at least two With these and other Objects inV w, my v valves (intake and exhaust) afoul" cylinder auto iion consistsin certain novel features of 15 bil Bngjge for insta.nce,.empl0ys a camshaft struction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter having eight camsand requires eight t of push more fully described and claimed, andillustrated rods and other operating parts associated therein theaccompanying drawings, in whichwith Figure 1 is a side elevational viewof an autos iii One of the objects of the present invention is mobileengine q pp w h y p o Valve to provide an improved valve operatingmechaactuating a s i h h is of cgmpact and rugged construe- Figure 2 isa vertical cross section taken tion, is light in weight and contains butfew parts through e housing of my actuating mechanism and which is soconstructed that it can be manand Showing the letter in Cross Section-:5 ufactured and maintained at low cost. Figure 3 is a l plan View Ofthe Cam diskahd oth gbjects of t invention are provide showing in crosssection the rods of the lower ends an improved valve actuating mechanismhaving of y improved reciprocating motion t smita cam member in the formof a horizontally disting meaIlS- posed revoluble disk provided on itsupper face Figure 4 is an enlarged mental C oss Secwith two upwardlypresented cam portions distioh taken 011 line 0f Figure 30- posed ondifferent radii of the axis of said disks, Figure 5 is an enlarged ted coss set:- one of said cam portions being used to operate tien takenOnline of Figure the intake valve and the other to'operate the ex-Figure 6 is an enlarged detail ss S ct haust valve of the engine bymeans of novel motaken on line of u e 1- tion transmitting meansarranged above said disk Figure 7 is a detail V w o t e Valve mechanism35 and in operative engagement with the respective Figure 8 is Verticalss Section through valves and cam portions. modified form of myinvention wherein means Still other objects of the invention are toproare Shown for adVaneihg retarding the Valve vide a valve actuatingmechanism wherein the actuating mechanism, cam portions are arried arevoluble disk the 9 iS a, horizontal QI'OSS Section taken on latterbeing so arranged that it can be operated line Figure from the generatorShaft of the engine Referring by numerals to the accompanying Furtherobjects of the invention are to provide drawings m indicates anautomobile internal a reciprocating motion transmitting meansbecombustlon' engme of wen'known y having tween the cam member and theValve said means valves H and rocker arms l2. M Indicates a shaft suchas the generator shaft of an autocom r s 1 p 1 mg a tubular stat (maymember and mobile engine, one end of WhlCh is geared 1n the plurality ofballs arranged in said tubular memher in juxtaposed relation with eachother, the gg i g ggzg g gz i izgg i gig g gg ffi terminal bells beingOperative engagement meshes with a beveled-gear I6. The latter is 5Gwith rods slidably mounted in the ends of said fixed t t 1Ower end of ati lly disposed container and operatively associated with the reshaft 11hi shaft is t d i bearings l3 pective valve and said cam disk. and is.Bearing i8 is formed in the bottom wall Still further objects of theinvention are to proof a housing 20 and bearing i9 is formed in the videa revoluble disk having one or more cam porcover 2! detachablyclosingthe top of said housing. Shaft H extends upwardly above housing asuitable distance and has mounted thereon a spark timing mechanism 22.Housing 29 is preferably fixed to the cylinder block, as indicated at24. Gears i5 and it are enclosed by a casing which is secured to anddepends from the bottom wall of housing 23. This casing is provided ahorizontally disposed bearing 26 through which shaft 14 operates. Apackmg gland 2'? is secured to the outer end of bearing 26 and providesa seal which prevents oil contained in said casing from escapingthrough.

A disk 28' is fixed to shaft ll within housing. 2d and a thrust bearing29 is interposed between the downwardly presented hub 28a of said diskand the bottom wall of housing 28 so as to reduce friction to minimumwhen shaft and disk 28 are in operation. The upper end of this disk isprovided with a pair of arcuate pockets 3d and which are preferablyspaced diametrically from each other and are arranged on different radiifrom the axis of shaft ll. Pocket 36 receives an intake cam portion 32which is secured therein by screws 38. Pocket 3i receives an exhaust camportion 35' which is secured in position by screws 36.

Cover 25 is provided with a plurality of vertically disposed spacedbearings 3i and 38. Bearings 31, of which there are four, are spacedequidistant from each other and from the axis of H and are arranged onradii which correspond to the radius of the intake cam portion Bearings38 are also spaced equidistant from eachother and from the axis of shaft5? and about degrees from the bearings 3'! and are arranged on radiicorresponding to the radius of the exhaust cam portion at.

Bearings 31 and 38 extend a suitable distance into housing 29 andslidably mounted in bearings 31 are rods 39. The lower end of each rod39 bears on the upper face of disk 23 and the upper end of said rod isreduced as indicated at 39c and operates through a reduced bore 31a inbearing 3'! and extends into the lower end of a tubular member 49. Thislower end is provided with a flange M and is received in the internallythreaded bore formed in the upper end of bearing 3-1. A gland 42 isscrew-seated the threaded upper end of bearing 3! and serves to securesaid flanged end M in position.

Bearings 33 have slidably mounted therein rods 44, the lower ends ofwhich project downwardly from said. bearings and rest on the upper faceof cam disk 28 and are adapted to be engaged by the cam portion 35. Theupper ends of bearings 38 receive the lower ends of tubular members toin the same manner as bearings 3'5 and the upper ends 44a of rods 44extend into the lower ends of said tubular members and operate inidentically the same manner as rods 39.

Rods 39 are associated with the intake valves and are adaptedto beengaged by intake cam 32, while rods M are associated with exhaustvalves and are adapted to be engaged by exhaust cam 35. Cams and as areso proportioned as to effect accurate opening and closing of therespective valves. Said cams are formed arcuato, concentric with theaxis of rotation of cam disk 28, and in the present case the intake cam32 is spaced inwardly from the exhaust cam 35. Similarly the intake rods39 are located inwardly of the exhaust rods 45. Thus each end of the rodis operated upon by the respective cam portion and there is nointerference between them. This spacing of rods 39 and 44 and thecorresponding cams insure proper time sequence in the operation of thevalves of the engine.

The cams are case-hardened to resist wear and they can be readilyreplaced when worn. The use of a cam revoiuble in a horizontal planeinstead of in a vertical plane eliminates sudden impacts or hammer blowsof the cam upon the push rod, thereby preventing noise and providingmore accurate operation of the rods.

The reciprocating motion or power transmitted from each push rod 33 and46 to the respective rocker arms l2 by means of a plurality of steelballs 45 which are arranged in each tubular member at in a single rowand completely fill the latter. The lowermost ball bears against theupper end of reduced portion 39a or 540. and the uppermost ball bearsagainst the lower reduced end 43 of a rod 41', which reduced endprojects into said tubular member. Each of these rods 3? is slidablymounted in the upper end of the respeotive tubular member and theseupper ends are secured in position on the engine by a c1amping bar as.This clamping bar can be made in a single piece as shown in thedrawings, or it may be in short lengths so as to clamp the upper ends ofeach pair of adjacent tubular members. Said bar is secured to the engineblock and supports said tubular room are in proper position, maintainingrods il in vertical planes with the respective rocker arms 52.

The upper end of each rod ll' is preferably formed concave, as indicatedat 49, and resting on each upper end is a plate 59 which is shaped tofit loosely against said upper end and to form an upwardly presentedconcave seat 5! which is engaged by the downwardly presented end lid ofrocker arm 2. The purpose of this plate is to provide contact betweenmember We and the upper end of rod t? and preserve the latter in truevertical position. Plate 5% is permitted slight lateral motion on theupper end of rod 5-? and takes up the wiping contact produced by themovement of the rocker arm so that said rod :1"? is not affooted.

In the modified form shown in Figures 8 and 9, means are shown foradvancing the action of the valve mechanism. In this form anintermediate disk 52 is provided carrying plungers which latter areinterposed between the rods 39 and M and the cam disk 28. As the camdisk revolves, the cam portions actuate the respective plungers, whichin turn operate the rods. The intermediate disk partially rotatable toadvance or retard the plungers 54 relatively to the movement of the camportion. Thus when the intermediate disk 5-2 is moved in a directionopposite to that of the cam disk, the operation of the valve mechanismis advanced while if the intermediate disk is par tially rotated in thedirection in which the cam disk operates. the operation of the valvemechanism will be retarded. The intermediate disk can be 0 erated in anyconvenient manner, either manually or automatically, or both. As shownherein, this intermediate disk is provided with a segmental worm gearportion 55 which meshes with a Worm 55 journaled in extension of casing53. The latter is preferably formed in two sections bolted together asindicated at 59 to facilitate the assemblage of the mechanism. The worm58 is fixed on a shaft to which extends outwardly from said casing andis connected to a suitable actuating mechanism, not shown.

As stated before, this actuating mechanism can be either automatic ormanual, or the two can be combined.

Preferably the lower ends of rods 39 and M are provided with horizontalarcuate enlarge-' Thus the plungers 56 can be movedto one side of rods35 and Mi interrupting the operative relationship. Adjusting 'orintermediate disk 52 is provided with a central opening 62 through whichshaft ll extends upwardly. This disk is referably held in position bycircular flanges M which are formed integral with and project inwardlyfrom the annular walls of the twohalves of casing 58. When the twosections or halves of said casing are clamped together a clearanceexists between upper flange 64 and the upper face of said disk so thatthe latter is free to operate.

In' order to reduce friction, said disk 52 is pref erably spaced fromsaid sections asshown in the drawings, and spaced ribs 55 formedintegral with the lower section are used to maintain disk 52 in propercentral position. A gasket 55% is interposed between flanges 58a of thesections of casing 52 so as to provide a seal for the casing when thelatter is filled with oil. As the casing (25 or 52) is completely filledwith oil, the operating mechanism contained therein is amply lubricatedso that very little wear takes place. shaft i l leaves the casing aseal. 2'! is provided to prevent escape of the oil from the casing.

The balls 45 are lubricated by oil admitted into each tubular member 49through both ends thereof. The use of balls 45 permits direct operativeconnection between the actuating member and the actuated member along acurved or irregular line without the use of any intermediate mechanism.This not only amplifies the construction of the valve actuatingmechanism but also reduces the manufacturing as well as the operatingcosts and provides a more accurate and silent operation.

My invention can beapplied to any type of engine employing tappetvalves.

While I have shown and described herein the preferred form of myinvention, it is to be understood that various changes in theconstruction and arrangement of parts of my improved valve actuatingmechanism can be made and substituted for those herein disclosed withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a valve actuating mechanism of the class described, thecombination with valve actuating members, of a revoluble horizontallydisposed disk provided on one face with one or more cam portions, anadjusting disk rotatably mounted in spaced relation with the cam face ofthe first disk, a plurality of plungers slidably mounted in saidadjusting disk in spaced relation with each other and having one oftheir ends engageable by the respective cam portion, a plurality oftubular members stationarily mounted and extending along curved linesfrom each plunger adjacent to the corresponding valve actuating member,a set of intermediate plungers slidably mounted each in each tubularmember adjacent toand in operative engagement with the correspondingslidable plungers whereby the actuation of the respective cam portionamid the slidable plungerimparts slidable motion to the correspondingintermediate plunger, and balls arranged in a sin gle row in eachtubular member and having their outermost balls in operative engagementwith the When the respective intermediate plunger and valve actuatingmember, thereby transmitting motion from said intermediate plunger tosaid valve actuating member, said adjusting disk being adjustablerotatably to shift said slidable plungers relatively to said camportions and retard or accelerate the operative engagement therebetween.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with valveactuating members, of a revoluble horizontally'disposed disk provided onone face with spaced cam portions, an adjusting disk rotatably mountedin spaced axial relation with the cam face of said first disk, aplurality of plungers slidably mounted in said adjusting disk and havingone of their ends engageable by the respective cam portions, a pluralityof tubular members stationarily mounted and extending from each slidableplunger adjacent to the corre sponding valve actuating member, a set ofintermediate plungers slidably mounted each in each tubular memberadjacent to and in operative engagement with the corresponding slidableplunger whereby said intermediate plungers are actuated by said slidableplungers, a slidable rod mounted in the outer end of each tubular memberand in operative engagement with the corresponding valve actuatingmember, and a plurality of balls arranged in a single row in eachtubular member and having their outermost balls in operative contactwith the corresponding plunger and rod, said adjusting disk being adjustable on its axis to shift the plungers mounted therein relatively tosaid cam portions and accelerate or retard the operative engagementtherebetween, the outer end of each slidable plunger being provided withan enlarged surface so asto retain at all times operative engagementwith the corresponding intermediate plunger.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a housingadapted to be mounted adjacent to one side of an engine block, avertically disposed shaft journaled therein, means for actuating saidshaft from said engine, a horizontally disposed disk fixed to said shaftwithin said housing, a pair of cam portions arranged on the upper facethereof, an adjusting disk rotatably mounted in said housing in axialspaced relation with the cam face of said disk, a set of primaryplungers vertically mounted in said adjusting disk and having theirlower ends adapted to be engaged by said cam portions, a set ofintermediate plungers slidably mounted in said housing above saidadjusting disk and having their lower ends engaging the upper ends ofsaid primary plungers, a plurality of tubular members each having one ofits ends anchored in said housing in coaxial relation with the outer endof the corresponding intermediate plunger and extending from saidhousing and having its outer end adapted to be anchored adjacent to therespective valve actuating member, a plurality of balls arranged in asingle row in each tubular member and having their outermost balls inoperative engagement with the corresponding intermediate plunger and thevalve actuating member whereby reciprocating motionis transmitted fromsaid cam disk by means of said balls along curved lines, and meansarranged in said housing for operating said adjusting disk.

4. In a device of the class described, the com- F bination with aplurality of valve actuating members, of a revoluble disk provided onone face with a plurality of cam portions, an adjusting disk coaxiallyarranged with the first disk in spacedapart relation with the cam facethereof, and

intermediate revoluble independently of said first disk, a plurality ofplungers slidably mounted in said adjusting disk, each plunger havingone of its ends engageable by said cam portions, a plurality ofstationary tubular members extending each from a point above eachplunger along a curved line to a point adjacent to the respective valveactuating member, an intermediate plunger mounted in one end of eachtubular member adjacent to and in operative engagement with thecorresponding first-mentioned plunger, and a plurality of balls arrangedin a single row in each tubular member and completely filling the same,the outermost balls oi each tubular member being in operative engagementwith the respective intermediate plunger and the valve actuating member,whereby the motion of each cam actuated plunger is transmitted throughthe corresponding intermediate plunger and the row of balls associatedtherewith to the respective valve actuating member, said adjusting diskbeing adjustable about its axis to shift the first-mentioned set ofplungers relatively to said cam portions and retard or accelerate theoperative engagement therebetween.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a pluralityof valve actuating members, of a revoluble cam disk disposed on ahorizontal plane below said valve actuating members, a plurality ofupwardly projecting cam portions arranged in spaced-apart relation onthe upper face of said cam disk, a plurality of tubular membersextending upwardly from said disk to said A valve actuating members, thelower end of each tubular member terminating above and adjacent to thecam face of said disk and in predetermined spaced relation with the camportions thereof and the upper end of each tubular memher being disposedadjacent to th corresponding valve actuating member, a plunger havingits upper end slidably mounted in the lower end of each tubular memberand having its lower end engaging the cam face of said disk and the camportions thereof, a plunger having one end slidably mounted in the upperend of each tubular member and having its other end operatively engagingthe corresponding valve actuating member, and a plurality of steel ballsoperatively filling in a, single row each tubular member, the outermostballs engaging, respectively, the upper end of said cam actuated plungerand the inner end of said upper plunger whereby the motion imparted bysaid cam portions to the lower portion is transmitted by said balls tothe upper plunger for actuating said valve actuating members.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination with a valveactuating member, of an open-topped housing, a cover therefor, avertically disposed shaft jcurnaled in said housing and said cover, ahorizontally disposed disk fixed on said shaft within said housing,means for driving said shaft, a pair of upwardly projecting camsarranged on the upper face of said disk in spacedapart relation witheach other, a plurality of vertically disposed bearings formed in saidcover, a vertically disposed slidable plunger mounted in each bearingand having its lower end projecting into said housing and engaging thecam face of said disk, a plurality of tubular members, means forsecuring the lower end of each tubular member to the upper end of eachbearing where-l by the upper end of each plunger enters the lower end ofthe corresponding tubular mem ber, means for anchoring the upper end ofeach tubular member adjacent to the corresponding valve actuatingmember, a vertically slidable plunger mounted in the upper end of eachtubular member and having its upper end operatively associated with thevalve actuated member, and a plurality of steel balls arranged in asingle row within said tubular member throughout its entire length andhaving its lowermost ball engaging the upper end of said cam actuatedplunger and having its uppermost ball engaging the lower end or" saidupper plunger whereby said valve actuating members are operated by theactuation of said cam disk through the medium of the correspondingplungers and the rows of balls contained in the respective tubularmembers.

FOSTER V. WALTZ.

